Last Few Days with the Justice

Wednesday we continued our discussion on the use of precedent, focusing on one J. Alito’s recent dissents. He encouraged discussion of his approach, and again the class was varied as to their views. We also talked about the diverse ways other countries approach writing opinions and what benefits/detriments other systems offer, specifically the value or harm in writing a dissenting opinion. In the evening we went to a nice walkway along the river to watch a fireworks show for Bastille Day (a type of Independence Day in France). The fireworks were just ok, although there were some different types of fireworks than I am accustomed to. There were fireworks that looked like ghosts shooting up and slowly fading away, and another type that looked like gold confetti spreading, sort of appearing generally with no explosion or outward spreading. After the fireworks we returned to the same Sangria hut for some Cuban style food. I tried some sort of spiced meat with a tart kind of sauce, it was very good (but I was also starving).

Thursday was our last day of class with J. Alito, and we discussed the interpretation of treaties and their effect on domestic courts. But, what was more interesting, we asked him questions about his personal stance and experience on the Court. He deflected some of the important questions, granted he is under public scrutiny. For instance, when asked what the most important case in history is, he gave the stock answer. But, when asked what was the most important case he had decided—he listed a few controversial ones, including some we had read in class: McDonald, Graham, Heller, Citizens, and the Guantanamo Cases. Also, on his first day on the job (right after being sworn in), he was given cases to read and vote on. The very first issue was a death penalty stay of execution. As a side, his wife is awesome. She has a fire-cracker personality, which is completely at odds with his. She has no problem airing her opinion or distaste (eg. the media), and in reference she calls the other Justices by their first name, which is a little odd for us to hear.

In the evening we had a reception for J. Alito at the Strasbourg school with wine, small sandwiches, desserts, and little fish assortments on crackers. It was a nice reception; we took a group picture and all had the opportunity to take one-on-one pictures. I also managed to sneak in a few minute personal conversation about court administrative issues. We talked about why the Chief Justice is appointed not voted on by the court, and what effects Kagan might have on the court’s composition. I would have loved to have a discussion on substantive issues, but J. Alito mostly had stayed away from pushing us into one opinion, i.e. arguing about the subject matter. After the reception a small group of us went out for a glass of wine with our Criminal Law professor, Mr. Mettraux. He has some very interesting stories as a defense attorney at the ICTY. Two of his clients were actually acquitted. His discussed how his first role is to the court, and he will not lie as an ethical obligation (although the international tribunals have little formal ethical standards). So, he tells his clients that he must tell the truth in court, and cannot represent a story that is false. To me, this seems to just place the stop-gap for ‘un-truth’ on the client rather than the attorney, to keep the lies to himself. Although, Mr. Mettraux was not naïve and admitted everything a client says is potentially a lie, so he establishes the entire story off concrete evidence. He had other interesting stories as well, about mandatory Swiss Army service (hanging out in a ladies barn doing radio drills and drinking wine) and the personal relationship—and its importance—that inevitably forms during two to ten year trials. Thursday evening three of us went to a water show in another part of the city. It was better than the fireworks. There were lasers, pictures portrayed on the water, and the whole thing was set to music. After the water show I had a beer in the city square, a nice end to a long, but good, day.

Friday was the last day of actual classes, we have finals on Monday. The classes were interesting and both professors received applause at the end. After class a small group of us went to a nearby city, although more like an offshoot, of Strasbourg. There we walked around some wineries and tasted many of the wines. I ended up buying three bottles; they were very cheap, only about 6 euro per bottle. The little town was very pretty, full of tiny little streets and short little homes, only the pictures can do it justice. The first winery we entered was literally a man’s home where he made wine in his garage. He sat us down in his home and even left us there alone to taste different wines while he ran outside to work. At one point a woman walked through with a baby, and a separate lady came to see how we were doing. After getting back I took a quick swim and had a nice long talk with Kim, a perfect way to end the week.